I have mentioned before how extreme the business environment has been in Iceland over the past few years, but business isn’t the only thing that is extreme in Iceland. Yesterday, a volcanic eruption started in Grímsvötn in the southern part of Iceland, only a year after the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull made world news for stopping air traffic all over Europe with its tremendous cloud of ash.
One of Iceland’s most respected reporters, Ómar Ragnarsson, is quoted as saying about the Grímsvötn eruption: “This is the largest volcanic eruption that I have seen.” But volcanic eruptions are a common occurrence in Grímsvötn, as it usually erupts every 10 years or so, making it Iceland’s most frequently active volcano. Over the years, most of the eruptions in Grímsvötn have not been very dangerous, so hopefully, this one will be the same.
I found it very strange last year that while I lived only an hour’s drive from Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption, I was not affected by it very much and, in fact, did not even see any signs that there was a volcanic eruption—other than the ones I saw on TV. Yet, at the same time, people living thousands of kilometers away, all over Europe, were affected by it, as it ruined their travel or vacation plans. This time, the same is true: I can’t see any signs of an eruption in Iceland other than the ones I’m reading about on the Internet.
A few of the people I follow on Twitter have pointed out that at least this time, the name should be a little easier for the foreign press. Last time, the press had some problems pronouncing “Eyjafjallajökull” correctly—I can’t imagine why.
If you’re interested in following some interesting discussions about the eruption on Twitter, the hashtags to follow are: #grimsvotn, #icerupt, #eruption, #iceland. A few interesting people covering the eruption on Twitter are @aldakalda, @hjortur, and @thisisiceland. If you’re not already following @ThisIsIceland, you should—they often have the best tweets, as this is actually Iceland the island tweeting, not just a mere human like the rest of us.
Iceland is full of energy—so much that it explodes through the Earth’s crust.
Frumkvöðull í meira en 20 ár. Stofnandi 7 fyrirtækja og Frumkvöðlar-samfélagsins. Skrifar um ferðalagið — gott og illt.
Meira um Hauk →